As a photographer, it’s very important to develop your philosophy. Having the best gear in the world is awesome but it’s not an end all for us at AYP. What you see and how you present that visual story through your lens is more important. It’s how you capture people’s attention in terms of lighting and composition and how those images will interact and come across to others. In this article, I’m going to share two simple tools to develop your philosophy from my book Create: Tools from Seriously Talented People to Unleash Your Creative Life and some other interesting information.
Philosophy is a Greek word that means “love of wisdom”. It’s a guiding principle that every photographer should develop and use as compass to reach their goal. There’s wisdom that comes along with the art of photography. With this wisdom, you would be able to seamlessly adapt your ideas and beautifully share your artistic expression to the world. You could also use your personal artistic philosophy as a stable point of reference. Not just in your photography, but in life itself.
Every professional photographer that I have talked with has developed an enormous storehouse of wisdom that I love to tap into in my YouTube interviews. One of them was Camille Seaman, a wonderful landscape and nature photographer. One of her guiding principles is the importance of knowing herself. She said, this is the reason why it’s so important to look at your style and beliefs. Think about how you will be able to portray who you are and what you stand for in your photographs. Once you figure that out, it becomes an integral part of your life. It’s a part of your makeup and something that you can carry with you through the rest of your life. In my case, it has been amazing to follow Socrates’ mantra to “know thyself” as it has opened many doors that I wouldn’t have access to otherwise.
Speaking of doors, I want to share an important story of photographer Bob Holmes that changed his life. He came to the United states from the UK, and somehow, by hook or by crook, managed to get a job interview with National Geographic’s legendary director of photography, Bob Gilka.
Gilka gave Bob his first assignment and told him that it wasn’t so much about the technicalities of his photographs that mattered to him, it was that Bob was able to make inside his imposing doors! He successfully did that and landed the job which opened other doors for Holmes and other doors for people to see his work around the world.
New opportunities let you experience new things and tell stories about them. People love telling stories. This has been true since the first caveman who drew a saber toothed tiger on cave walls for others to see. He wanted to share his experience with his tribe and connect with what he saw and felt. It’s similar with photography in the way that you connect with others through non-verbal communication. It’s not just supposed to be merely a two-dimensional flat “image”. It should definitely convey and depict a story, a message, as well as elicit and provoke certain emotions. This is the reason why there’s always a connection between storytelling, philosophy and photography.
Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange
Images are also a way to preserve memories and learn about the past. Dorothea Lange was a depression era photographer. She captured images that take us back to the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world.
Another outstanding example of storytelling is the book The Family of Man, a collection of 503 photographs from 273 photographers in 68 countries worldwide. Going through these images from the past will give you a glimpse of what it felt like to live at that time period.
If you haven’t yet worked out your own philosophy, then I recommend that you begin by asking yourself about your goals. Where do you think you’re going and what you want to do with your photography? In my case, aside from talking to photographers and finding out what makes them excited, I also love photography as a means of illustrating my books. I have often thought about the images that I’ve already captured that will fit in with what I am writing about. Or maybe I’m looking at old photographs and writing something when I find one that really sparks for me.
Before I end this, there’s two simple tools from my book Create that you should know about. The first one is to start your day off with some kind of inspiration, soaking it in deeply. After that, I recommend that to write what resonated with you in your journal. You should also write about your questions and goals. Journaling will help you stay on track. It also gives you the chance to see where you’ve been and how far you’ve come. And it is a big step on the road to “knowing thyself”
Getting inspired and journaling are definitely two key parts of developing your philosophy. If you want to learn more creative tools then do check out my book and other resources below.
Learn more:
Want to Jumpstart your Creativity? I’ve created a Quick Start Guide for creativity that will give you easy steps to live a more creative life.
Video: How Finding Your Photography Philosophy Can Help Improve Your Photography
The Family Of Man
Create: Tools from Seriously Talented People to Unleash Your Creative Life
Bob Holmes Video: “The Photography Struggles I Overcame with My First Shoot for National Geographic”